Aquinas and Dante: Perfecting Human Reason

Julia Caldwell Professor Albrecht Development of western sandwich Civilization 2, February, 2013 doubting Thomas and Dante Perfecting Human effort doubting Thomas and Dante Perfecting Human Reason Despite the fact that Dantes reader doesnt encounter St. doubting Thomas Aquinas within the Comedia until enlightenment, the beliefs and teachings of Aquinas atomic number 18 woven through emerge the sum of the famous poem. St. Thomas Aquinass cosmology and theology atomic number 18 used as the foundation for Dantes Comedia, and for this author it is no amazement that the experiences of the Pilgrim symbolically reflect m both of Aquinass teachings.The Pilgrims experiences on his journey through the afterlife reflect what Aquinas called the, two-fold truth concerning the predict being, one to which the inquiry of think skunk reach, the other which surpasses the whole office of kind suit (Summa Contra Gentiles, discharge I, 4). Dante also illustrates Aquinass cobblers last tha t mans reason tends toward the source of supreme true eyepatch mans allow tends toward the ultimate good. The reader is adequate to(p) to interpret how Dantes go away and reason search for, and ultimately attain, fulfilment in the vision of the godly Essence.Both Aquinas and Dante emphasize the necessary union among world reason and divine corporate trust as a means of attaining this fulfillment. As the in pacifyer of these inclinations, solo matinee idol Himself so-and-so satisfy them. Aquinas demonstrates this caprice through his write up of the pictorial and the divine law as they pertain to the Eternal law. Dante demonstrates this idea through the Pilgrims interactions with his guides and the culmination of his ascension in heaven. Just as with body and soul, matter and form, there is a harmonious relationship amongst reason and faith yet the agents within these partnerships are not equal.Both Dante and Aquinas acknowledge that merciful reason can assist the individual(a) in understanding God and coinciding ones pull up stakes with His provide, that they both conclude that this secular-based reasoning is subjugated by and therefore must(prenominal)iness be perfected by theology. In Dantes Virgil the reader finds gentleman reason personified. Being the shade of a ren ingested and wise philosopher, Virgil is a perfect candidate to guide the Pilgrim through hell and purgatory. In his own lifetime Virgil lived as a pious man and therefore reach the imperfect Earthly contentment that can be acquired through essential powers.However, as Aquinas states, every knowledge that is according to the mode of created substance, go short of the vision of the worshipful Essence, therefore Virgil is unable(p) to reach fulfillment since he cannot ascend to Paradise (Summa Theologiae, Handout II, 12). Instead, like many of his gentile contemporaries, Virgil is doomed to spend eternity in the underworlds Limbo. He will forever yearn to know the ultimate delight and the ultimate truth that are only found in God. As Virgil puts it himself, In this just we suffer cut off from hope, we live in passion (Inferno, 20).Dante provides Virgil as a means of illustrating the incompleteness of human reason, whereby observing Aquinass warning. When describing the home of philosophers within Limbo Dante writes, we reached a place fan out out and luminous (Inferno 22). It is fitting that this farming be characterized by alight because as Aquinas states, natural reason is nothing else than an imprint on us of the betoken light (Summa Theologiae, Handout II, 13). The knowledge possessed by the philosophers comes from God Himself, or the Eternal Law.Having never embraced the faith of God through the implementation of the theological virtues, however, Virgil is an imperfect soul. Much like Virgil, human reason is direct by the light of the Eternal Law, scarcely is unperfected without the divine law. It is this very imperfection of V irgils nature that makes him the perfect guide for the initial stages of Dantes journey. In Virgil Dante finds a guide capable of let offing and illuminating the conceptual and rational worlds of Hell and Purgatory, but also in Virgil Dante is able to see the limits of human reason without the theological virtues.With Virgil as his guide, the Pilgrim is guided by the light of natural reason (Summa Contra Gentiles, Handout I, 2). Along his journey, however, Virgil comes to realize that his wise guide is not all-powerful. When the pair arrives at the gates of Dis in Canto 8, the Furies slam the gates of the city shut in spite of Virgils pleas. It is only when a holy messenger from Paradise arrives that the Furies drive home to Gods will and allow Dante and Virgil to enter. Taking this event metaphorically, reason is unable to go on further without grace. As the pair motive power within the realm of Purgatory it becomes clear that Dantes uestions are becoming to a majusculeer ext ent(prenominal) of a challenge for Virgil. When Virgil is trying to explain why his shade casts no shadow, his reasoning can only goes as far as to produce that his condition is, willed by that Power which wills its secret not to be revealed (Purgatory 207). Dante goes on to describe Virgils countenance as having anguished thoughts (Purgatory 207). Virgils endeavor to explain the dynamics of the afterlife as the pair comes closer to Paradise reflects Aquinass ratiocination that the human intellect is not able to reach a comprehension of the divine substance through its natural power (Summa Contra Gentiles, Handout I, 3).Furthermore this instance exemplifies Aquinass conclusion that human reason is able to recognize effects but is unable to explain the Ultimate Cause of these effects without faith (Summa Contra Gentiles, Handout I, 9). Virgil can see that he has no shadow, but he cannot explain the source of the sea captain cause. Since Virgil never rememberd in the faith of the divine mysteries while he was still on Earth, his intellect is unable to reach an understanding of Gods will. In conclusion, because Virgil doesnt use faith to perfect his reason, his own will can never be aligned with the will of his Creator.Virgil specifically alludes to the transformation in his faith when he distinguishes between pagan and Christian prayer. He admits that his own prayers, along with the prayers of all pagans, had no access to God (Purgatory, 225). inappropriate pagan prayers, which according to Virgil in the Aeneid are powerless in a universe predestined by the Fates, Christian prayers are an embodiment of human participation with the true divine. By taking part in prayer, the individual takes part in the theological virtues that are infused by God alone and direct us aright to God (Summa Theologiae, Handout II, 11).It is only through the participation in these theological virtues that an individual can be guided toward God Himself. These virtues are the per fecting agents by which the human will and intellect are pushed toward their last act (Summa Theologiae, Handout II, 8). This last act is the attainment of happiness in the vision of the Divine Essence. Rather than try to explain concepts beyond what his reason can grapple with, Virgil asks his pupil to wait for Beatrice to answer his questions on this subject Do not try to resolve so doubtful a doubt wait until she shall make it clearershe, he light between truth and intelligence (Purgatory 225). In this statement Virgil admits that Beatrice, as the light, is more capable of illuminating matters of the divine than the poet. Once the pair reaches the top of cod Purgatory, Virgil tells his young friend, youve reached the place where my discernment now has reached its end (Purgatory 351). Virgil has taken the Pilgrim as far as reason can dictate now Dante requires a guide of theological proportions to guide him in a realm where reason is blinded.When Dante reaches the top of Mount P urgatory, he has been cleansed of every perversion of the will. The feelings of admiration he felt for Virgil have been replaced by the intense love he feels for his unseasoned guide, Beatrice. He now desires conceptual knowledge less and instead begins to seek understanding through his senses. This tradeoff is necessary in this new realm where observations may not be fitting to human concepts. This necessity is make clear when Beatrice beings to explain to Dante the divinely ordained distribution of power amongst the stars (Paradise Canto I).Before she lays out the complicated plan she warns Dante, even when the senses guide, reasons wingspan can sometimes be short (Paradise 399). This is a reminder to Dante that his experiences in Paradise will not be as easily digested and picked apart as his experiences in Hell and Purgatory. In the former realms, human reason could essentially provide explanations without needing the aid of theology. This is also a cue to Dantes readers that they are not mentally capable of understanding the phenomena he is about to experience, so they must curse on faith.In a larger context, humanity must rely on its faith in God to have any earthly understanding of what heaven is. Donning red, white, and green, Beatrice symbolically represents the theological virtues, including faith. Dante ab initio relies on the eyes of Beatrice to reflect the heavenly bodies, since the brightness of Paradise overwhelms his eyes (Paradise 393). This can be metaphorically applied to the idea that humans must rely on the assistance of God, through belief and participation in the theological virtues, to begin to understand Gods mysteries.In the same way Dante initially owes his sight of Paradise to the eyes of Beatrice, humanity owes perfection of its reason to the theological virtues. As Aquinas chimes, the theological virtues direct man to supernatural happiness (Summa Theologiae, Handout II, 11). Through keeping faith in the mysteries while on Ear th, a soul will be ready to behold them in the afterlife. In this way, both Dante and Aquinas emphasize how important it is for Christians to believe in the mysteries of the divine even when they transcend human reason.Even having beheld the beauty of the Divine himself, Dante is unable to relate the experience in words to his readers. Though he has seen the mysteries of God with his own eyes, the Divine Essences unparalleled nature transcends human explanation and human understanding. In this way Dante illustrates Aquinass conclusion that while on Earth we must rely on what we believe not what we actually see and understand. Aquinas says, although human reason cannot grasp fully the truths that are yet above itif it somehow holds these truths by faith, it acquires great perfection for itself (Summa Contra Gentiles, Handout I, 6).In this way Aquinas clarifies the relationship between faith and reason. Without faith, reason remains unperfected and vulnerable to falsehoods. With faith , however, reason aligns itself with truth and thus aligns itself with the will of God. Individuals who perfect reason with faith are guided along the highroad towards salvation, just as Dante experiences. Following this path, one is able to arrive at the end toward which all humanity tends, prepared and deserving of the vision of the Divine Essence. It is only at this moment that the individual achieves the desires of both reason and will truth and happiness.